Random Rumblings: The White Sox are still dead

• The White Sox are still dead and out of the race.  They should give up hope and trade away some contracts before the deadline.  Yesterday’s extra inning debacle was the nail in the coffin.
• It’s still one day too early for me to comment on the Marlins recent run.  Tune back in tomorrow.
• Why does Peter Angelos get all worked up about a baseball team moving to Washington, D.C.?  I don’t remember the Redskins getting all upset when the Ravens moved to Baltimore.  This ESPN article points that out.
• If you’re not sure who to vote for in the Presidential election in November, check out this site (be warned - there's sound after you click on the big picture of Bush and Kerry).  It runs down the whole thing pretty well. 
• How long can the Rangers stay in the AL West race?  I think by August 15th we’ll all start talking about what a nice run they had, but how we all knew all along that they couldn’t keep it up all year.
• One of the major downsides of the Ricky Williams retirement is that it’s brought to the forefront how easy (or seemingly easy) it is to hide that you’ve been taking drugs.  In fact, the Miami Herald ran an article that showed every kid in town how to hide their marijuana use.  If people think Mark McGwire talking about andro was bad, Ricky telling everyone how to cover up their pot use is worse.  The implications of it are much more far reaching.
• Speaking of Ricky, the Herald also reported that Ricky made $16.5 million (gross – before taxes) in his NFL career.  Because of language in his contract, he’ll almost definitely have to pay back $5.5 million to the Dolphins (bonus money he was paid).  He may even have to pay back another $2.3 million to the Dolphins or the Saints for something similar.  $16.5 million less $7.8 million still leaves you with $8.7 million, but Ricky had to pay taxes on all of the $16.5 million I’m sure.  It’s more money than you (probably) and I (definitely) have, but not as much as you might think.  Especially when you have a collection of homes (at least four – each of which is mortgaged) and cars to pay for.  The Herald also noted that Ricky’s property taxes on his two South Florida homes last year (more than $70K) exceeded the payment he’ll receive from the NFL players association ($60K) upon his retirement.  I’m guessing we’ll be hearing more from Ricky when the money runs dry.
• If the Yankees and Red Sox weren’t seeming part of every national broadcast, would they always seem to be so “popular”?
• David Pinto posted some interesting thoughts about the impact of how the Pirates handled arbitration with Barry Bonds affected Bonds' career.